"Come with you?" Nivis’s eyes widened. "Where?"

"We’re going on vacation to the Beethoven family’s private island. It’s quite a long trip—it might take a whole day," Liora explained gently. "Do you want to come?"

The other girls looked at Nivis hopefully. They didn’t dislike Nivis. On the contrary, they liked her.

Behind her aloof demeanor, Nivis was actually very kind and caring. Moreover, she was Lisa’s daughter.

As long as they remained good friends with her, they would still get to enjoy the delicious meals she cooked every day.

Nivis was surprised by their enthusiasm. To be honest, she was interested in going.

During the upcoming vacation, she had nothing to do except stay at home.

The first and second days might be fine, but from the third to the seventh day, she would definitely grow bored and restless.

"I want to come along," she admitted honestly. "But..."

She glanced at her mother, who was busy cooking, with a hesitant expression.

Merlin noticed her worry and gave her a reassuring smile.

"It’s okay. I’ll talk to your mom later."

Nivis’s eyes lit up. She nodded excitedly.

"In that case, I’ll go with you!"

The girls exchanged glances and smiled.

With Nivis along, the journey would surely be much livelier.

***

The next morning, Merlin and the girls were ready at the academy gates.

Some students noticed them and wondered why they were dressed so neatly.

"It’s too crowded here. Why don’t we move somewhere else?" Liora suggested.

But Margaret shook her head.

"It’s fine. Just ignore them. Oh, it’s finally here!"

Her gaze shifted upward, where a large white stork was flying toward them.

The stork was about seven meters long, with a wingspan of twelve meters.

Its appearance immediately startled everyone.

"A seventh-level monster? Damn! Who brought that here!? That’s amazing!" one of the students exclaimed in awe.

The others were equally stunned.

The stork slowly descended and landed in front of Merlin and the others. Then, a beautiful woman stepped down from its back with elegant grace.

She walked forward and bowed her head toward Margaret.

"Everything is ready, Young Lady."

Margaret smiled. "Thank you, Lisa."

Merlin was slightly surprised when he saw the woman. He recognized her—Lisa, Margaret’s personal maid.

Lisa lifted her head and met his gaze. Instantly, a warm smile blossomed on her previously calm and indifferent face.

"It’s been a long time, Young Master Merlin. You’ve grown even more handsome and stronger," she said in admiration.

It had been four years since she last saw him. Back then, Merlin was just a frail eight-year-old boy with strength at the Ninth Spirit Core level.

But now, Lisa could sense his power—the Fourth Spirit Core!

"It’s good to see you too, Lisa," Merlin replied, his gaze sweeping over her from head to toe. Then he noticed her strength and said in surprise, "You’re already at the Ninth Awakening?"

"Oh? You noticed?" Lisa was also surprised, then smiled. "Yes, I’ve already reached the Ninth Awakening level. Just about a month ago."

"Wow! How is that possible? I didn’t know that."

This time, it was Margaret who reacted in surprise. She and Lisa hadn’t seen each other in a long time, so the sudden increase in her power clearly caught her off guard.

"Well, the family head told me not to mention it. He said he wanted to surprise you," Lisa replied with a giggle.

Margaret rolled her eyes in annoyance. "That old man..."

Merlin just smiled. "Well then, let’s go."

His eyes shifted left and right, noticing more and more students gathering around.

Being watched like this felt uncomfortable.

Lisa nodded. With that, Merlin, Margaret, Catrine, Liora, Monica, Luna, Nivis, and Nysera all jumped onto the stork’s back.

Lisa patted the stork’s head, and the massive beast flapped its wings before soaring into the sky.

The students could only watch in stunned silence, their expressions filled with envy.

***

Three hours later, Merlin and the others finally arrived at the Beethoven family’s private port.

The place was quite bustling. Merchants from the Beethoven family moved back and forth between the ships anchored along the dock.

The stork slowly descended before landing smoothly.

Merlin and the girls jumped down, followed by Lisa.

Lisa turned toward the stork and gently patted its belly.

"Go."

The stork let out a soft cry, then flapped its wings and soared into the sky.

"I’m curious about something," Monica said hesitantly. "Why don’t we just use the stork to go directly to the island? Wouldn’t that be faster?"

Merlin chuckled and patted her head.

"That stork is a living creature. We’ll be traveling for a full day and night. The ocean is vast, and there are no places to rest. Not to mention, the sea breeze is freezing. Do you want to sleep in that cold?"

Monica thought about it for a moment, then shook her head.

"N-No, I don’t want to," she whispered shyly.

The others laughed at her adorable reaction.

They then headed toward a dark blue ship on the right side of the port. It was much smaller compared to the others docked nearby.

But according to Merlin, its size was just right. After all, only nine of them were going.

Even including the crew, the total number was less than thirty.

"Welcome, young lady and everyone else," greeted a tall, muscular young man. "My name is Gerhan, and I’ll be your helmsman. It’s a pleasure to meet you all."

Lisa nodded. "Nice to meet you too. Is everything ready?"

Gerhan straightened his posture and gave a slight nod.

"Everything is ready, Miss Lisa. We can set sail at any time."

With that, he led them aboard the ship.

Soon after, the ship began to move, heading toward the Beethoven family’s private island.

...

"Hmmm..."

In her office, Linda studied the documents with a serious expression.

"Monsters appearing in the Sky Wing Rift, huh? That’s bad news."

The document in her hand was a report detailing level three to five monsters emerging from the Sky Wing Rift.

It had been over two years since the rift first appeared, and Linda had been monitoring it closely through the spies she had stationed there.

Unexpectedly, after remaining dormant for so long, the monsters had finally begun to emerge.

"It seems the war is about to begin," she whispered.

She knew those weak monsters were merely a decoy.

According to a report she had received a year ago, there were signs of a level nine monster hiding within the rift.

If that information was true, Linda could only imagine how terrifying the chaos in the future would become.

"Ugh..."

She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

"Merlin," she whispered, her gaze fixed on the blue sky outside the window. "I hope you can grow up quickly. After all, you’re our only hope..."